


The Mane Attraction

by LetoaSai



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Activists, Alternate Universe, Animal Abuse, Circus, Cloud's flustered, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Shifter, Squall's a lion, Whistleblowers, but consent was totally given, circus with magic themes, shady circus, sometimes, under cover for the police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: Cloud thought he was just checking out a circus with his friends for illegal activities. He didn't think he'd be taking the star lion home with him by the end of the night.
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Leon (Kingdom Hearts)/Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 75
Kudos: 159





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: i do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Final Fantasy. 
> 
> Yeah, it's another one... ^__^

“I thought the circus was dead.” Cloud frowned. Hadn’t he read something like that? They were inhumane and were losing audiences. There were rumor mills that they were easy pickings for traffickers and for how children always got the silly notions in their head that running away to the circus was a real thing.  
Not to mention the animals. The poor animals who seemed far too happy to perform, only because they were tortured if they didn’t. 

“The tickets were free.” Tifa shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to check it out for a while. If it’s bad, we leave.” 

“If it’s really bad we take pictures and report everything we see.” Yuffie added. That was the general sense of agreement between them. 

Aerith already had her arms crossed as they waited in line, sure they weren’t about to like any of this. Cloud tugged at her jacket to hide the dagger hidden on her back a little better. 

He didn’t know when they’d become a band of whistle blowers but here they were. They’d caught the chemicals being dumped into the Atlantica Sea and Vincent had chained himself to a historical house to keep them from knocking it down. Cid sat with him for three days bringing him food and reminding him of the fact that the house, while historical, was haunted as shit.

There was also that unfortunate trafficking situation with Don Corneo that Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith infiltrated for the police. 

He liked to think that was the last time he’d have to dress up as a woman. 

They’d all only just barely graduated high school and they’d already gotten in over their heads a few times. 

“Smells. I don’t like it,” Cid grumbled, his feet already shuffling as they headed towards the brightly decorated tents. There must have been a dozen small ones surrounding the big one and hundreds of people milling around already. 

“What a showing…” Vincent frowned, “Didn’t think this many people would show up. Don’t they know about the animals?” 

“People hope the things they’ve heard are just exaggerations.” Tifa muttered, walking up to the ticket booth and handed their tickets over. The tickets had been a thank you gift given to them from the police. Cloud was sure it was a ploy to have them check out to circus for wrong doing. It would have served them right had they just tossed the tickets away, but if there had been...something wrong and they’d ignored it. They wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt. 

The smell was… well what would you expect a tent filled with people and animals to smell like?

“Eh, I’ll wait outside.” Cid muttered, disgust clear in his voice but Vincent grabbed his arm. 

“You’ll sit with me and keep _me_ from doing something regrettable.” 

Cid grunted his unhappy affirmative and even Aerith looked uncomfortable. Aerith could find a silver lining in almost any situation and watching her expression close off was almost frightening. 

Honestly, there were children here. The pre show included clowns wandering the audience, juggling and doing other tricks. Yuffie nearly shrieked, attaching herself to Tifa as if positive the taller woman would kick anyone that got to close. 

“Why clowns?” Yuffie muttered. “I hate clowns.” 

Cloud agreed and was sure there were some who got a bad wrap. Odds seemed reasonable to him that if you were a clown by profession, then you enjoyed it. They were people who probably liked jokes and making people, specifically children happy. That didn’t seem like such an awful thing. 

These clowns however looked more like the sort that would smile and laugh while looking for a ladies purse or a child to abduct. It was unsettling to say the least. 

“Take some pictures, Yuffie.” Aerith said softly. “I know you don’t like it.” she continued when Yuffie looked up with an unsettled expression. She hated clowns, but her sleight of hand was better than any performer here. She could take pictures without being seen. 

“It’s a public space.” Vincent commented. “There are hundreds of people taking pictures. No one will notice a few more.” 

“Good. Anyone else please.” Yuffie muttered. 

Tifa sighed and pulled out her phone, moving to seemingly take a picture of Cloud and Aerith while actually taking pictures of anything going on behind them. She did the same off and on for over an hour as they finally took their seats. 

The tent was crowded with people cheering and clapping but Cloud didn’t understand the appeal. The clowns were frightening but the acrobats were good. Young but good… they flitted through several aerial acts that had the crowd gasping. The high wire act looked particularly death defying by a set of young twins. Too young. 

Cloud sat and watched, shaking his head sadly. Did no one see how horrifying this was? Not in a showmanship sort of way but in a child labor laws sort of way. 

“Their clothes are enchanted.” Vincent commented quietly. “They’re talented for sure but they're frightened up there.” 

No one second guessed him given his own enchanted red jacket. He knew what he saw. It was one more thing to take note of. 

There were performers swallowing swords, and others showing off their fire breathing. That one in particular had their ire sky rocketing when the flames licked at the feathers of the group of four chocobos. A scarf one of them wore even caught fire but it was ripped away in a dramatic fashion like it was part of the show. 

“Tell me you got a picture of that.” Cid muttered. 

“Recording.” Yuffie mumbled. 

Everyone around them seemed to be having a fantastic time but the six of them, but it was possible that that was because they were looking for problems. The animals were mistreated and some of the performers themselves looked like they’d do anything to get away. 

What caught Cloud’s attention was a black lion. A beautiful, rare, black lion that strutted into the arena. He was surrounded by clowns jumping up and down in excitement but Cloud only saw the creature surrounded by guards making him obey. One held his leash, pulling him along and should he try to veer off course one of the clowns tapped his rear. Given the way he jumped every time, whatever they were doing to him was painful. 

Leon the Lion. The crowd went absolutely wild over him. The noise made him flinch and just to back away but there was nowhere for him to go without being ‘directed’.

“Poor baby…” Cloud muttered, his breathing strangled for a moment. Even from a distance the lion looked broken. Walk three steps this way, pose. Walk around the arena this way, roar. Jump. Leap. Pose. All of it while getting poked and prodded. 

Why was this just acceptable? 

“Call Barret.” He said. 

“I already have.” Aerith said. “With Yuffie practically live streaming bits of the violence right to the police he’s already got a warrant.” 

“Good…” Vincent muttered, cursing suddenly when the next act was dragged out. The black lion was pulled out of the way as the show stopper came out. A legend, a cuitlamitzi. A lion-wolf creature, it’s tail a flame.

Red XIII.

“He’s branded!” Yuffie gasped, standing up just so she could zoom in closer. Red seemed to be treated much the same as the lion, only his jaws were taped shut. No doubt as a _safety_ precaution. 

“We’ll get them out of here.” Tifa said firmly. “Just a little longer.” 

There were contortionists, a knife throwing bit, and a strong man act and Cloud was just about fed up. All of them where. 

“Don’t get this shit.” Cid grumbled. “There’s a place like this in Radiant Garden right, but all the animals are holograms so no one’s getting hurt.” 

“That sounds like a better idea.” Aerith muttered. Maybe less impressive in the training aspect but the beauty of it would be the same and no living, breathing animal would get hurt. 

The owner was a cocky silver haired man. Xehanort. They all made sure to get any pictures of him they could but the pro side of him being a cocky bastard came at after the finale. The invited the crowd to come down from their seats and mingle. To visit the performers and seem some tricks up close. It was no doubt how they’d scope out kids to abduct. 

“I got the kids.” Aerith muttered, looking at the little acrobats. 

“I’ll keep an eye on the boss man.” Cid grunted.

“As long as i don’t have to deal with clowns.” Yuffie said. 

Cloud nudged at her. “Come with me then. “I’m going to get a closer look at the lion and lion-wolf.” 

“Deal.” 

The six of them split up in the crowd, trying to gather as much intel as they could. It was hard in the crowd but Xehanort was laying it on thick. The clowns were at it again, dancing and juggling and being over all distracting while Cloud and Yuffie headed towards one of the back tents where the animals were kept. A few other people had wandered back to see the animals too but there were so many signs telling people to stay at a distance that even the lion-wolf was boring next to sword swallowers. 

“These poor fucking creatures.” Cloud muttered, bypassing the roped off area to take a look. The chocobo’s were huddled in a corner together while the cages for the black lion and the lion-wolf sat side by side. 

“Do you think we can find a reservation for them? Someplace they could be safe and not tortured?” Yuffie asked. “There’s gotta be some place.” 

Cloud hummed his agreement and moved right up to the black lion's cage. It was far too small for him. “Fuck you’re incredible looking.” he muttered. “And if some dumb ass wouldn’t immediately shoot you for being loose i’d let you out right now.” 

“Awe.. Cloud.” Yuffie smiled weakly. She looked in on Red XIII with a sigh, “Don’t worry buddy, we’re gonna get you guys out of here."

The lion-wolf watched them, eyes flickering from one to the other. The lion however just laid there, head seeming to be too heavy to even pick up. Drugged maybe. Depressed maybe...

Cloud did possibly the dumbest thing he’d never done in his life, and stuck his arms into the cage to touch the black fur. 

“Cloud…” Yuffie said, her voice inching into a warning tone. 

Cloud pet him, but didn’t get a reaction. “They’re selling food right? Go get like.. Ten hot dogs or something. Maybe some food would make them feel better.” 

“Is this a good idea? He doesn’t know you’re trying to help him.” 

“Will be my own fault.” Cloud muttered. “Go on. If this place is getting raided later tonight i want to know they’ve eaten.” 

“Okay, just.. Be careful. Don’t lose a hand.” Yuffie said, jogging away again and leaving things oddly quiet. 

“There now.” Cloud said softly, stroking his fingers through Leon’s mane. “It’s almost over, you’ll be somewhere safe soon.” Cloud would make sure of it. Leon’s fur was coarse and not well maintained. For as pretty as he looked, he could use a bath to knock out all that dirt and grim. His gaze was foggy and Cloud didn’t want to think about how many times a day they sedated him. 

“We’ll get you out soon.” 

Movement caught his eye and he glanced over at the other cage. Red. The lion-wolf was watching him keenly, much more alert. 

Cloud scowled at the tape still wrapped around his jaws. “Hey there. We’ll get you out too. Maybe we can find someone to safely get that shit off of you.” 

He pet Leon one more time before moving to Red’s cage. This wouldn’t work, he couldn't eat like this. He was wracking his brain over what he could do when Red nearly collapsed to lay down and whipped his tail around to set his muzzle on fire. 

“Wait!” Cloud asked, realizing he was trying to melt that tape off. “Wait, wait, wait.” It was just as stupid the second time as he shoved his hands between the bars of a wild animals age. The tape and his fur were both smoldering and Cloud’s own fingers singed as he tried to tug the tape off and pull his jaws apart. “Please don’t bite me.” 

Red shook his head back and forth, panting and licking at his jaws which gave Cloud plenty of time to pull his hands free. 

“You don’t make the list for people i wish to bite.” 

Cloud gasped and jerked back several steps. 

Red cocked his head to the side. “Yes, i talk. Can we move on from that now?” 

“Yeah…” Cloud said slowly. He was either going nuts or Red really could talk. He couldn’t imagine how that wasn’t something the circus exploited though. 

“Good.” Red grumbled “Do you actually plan on getting us out of here?” 

Cloud blinked, trying to catch up. Talking lion-wolf. Very intelligent lion-wolf. “Yes. We’ve already called the police. Frankly i think they were waiting for our call.” 

Red hummed, the sound so strange from an animal. “Then let me out. I will not let them take me to a ridiculous zoo.” 

“We wouldn’t let that happen either.” He glanced back at the lion’s cage. “Stupid question, does he talk too?” 

He took a minute, deciding whether or not he would answer. “Not for many years. That cage has affected him badly. You must be gentle with that one, make sure he can always see your hands.” Red watched Cloud closely. “You have good eyes. Honest eyes. Talk to him like a person and he will respond, hopefully.” 

Hopefully… that didn’t sound overly promising. 

“Right. Thanks for the heads up.” Cloud paused. “Is your name actually Red?” 

“Do you care?” 

“Bit, yeah. I wouldn’t like someone talking to me and using the wrong damn name.” Cloud said as he inched back to Leon’s cage. 

Red seemed perplexed by a notion of a kind human and watched as Cloud went back to stroking Leon’s ears. It was such a stupid, dangerous thing to do. 

“Nanaki.” 

Cloud glanced over at the lion-wolf again. “Nanaki it is then. Guess they didn’t know you could talk.” 

“Oh they know, but their greed did not supersede their dislike of being bitten. Squall there is too drugged to bite back.” Nanaki mused, almost... too calm for this awful situation. “Should you not introduce yourself?” 

“Oh,” Cloud blinked in surprised. “Right, I’m-” 

“Cloudy! I got the food!” 

“Keep it down.” Cloud hissed, looking around to see if they’d drawn any attention. 

“Sorry.” She snickered, “Don’t think anyone will care about us much. Cid set a teeny fire in the parking lot.” 

Cloud stared at her and heaved a sigh. “Of course he did. Food?” 

“Right. I got like ten hot dogs and a bunch of pretzels. The chocobos could eat this right?” She asked. 

“Probably.” Cloud agreed, moving away from Squall’s cage to take the bag...How did she get a bag of hot dogs?... Whatever… 

“Here Nanaki, and my name is Cloud. Nice to meet you.” 

Yuffie raised a brow but wandered over to the chocobo’s who cowered away from her until she started tearing off pieces of soft pretzels to hand them. 

Nanaki sniffed the hot dog before grabbing it out of his hand and eating it almost whole. 

“Have more but try to eat slowly. As good as it is and as hungry as you are, eating too fast won’t make you feel any better.” Cloud said. 

Nanaki grunted but was already started on the second one Cloud set down. He laid out a few more and went back to Squall’s cage. 

Hands. In cage. Stupid. “Hey there Squall.” Cloud said, gently rubbing his thumb between his eyes. “I know you feel like shit but try to eat.” 

He watched the lion's face twitch with sudden interest. He blinked, his mouth parted to show rows of sharp teeth. He struggled to sit up.

“I know, you don’t feel good.” Cloud said softly. “We’re going to get you out of here. Eat a little, okay? Maybe it’ll help with whatever tranquilizer they gave you. Here.” He held the hot dog up and Squall just stared at them. 

“Eat Squall. One way or the other, food is food.” Nanaki said, gaining the lion's attention only briefly before he started staring at Cloud again. 

“Please don't bite me.” Cloud said softly. “I hope you don’t mind, Nanaki told me your name. Mine’s Cloud. We’re gonna get you out of here, okay?”

Squall lunged, but for the hot dog in Cloud’s hand. He was oddly dainty about taking it and not Cloud’s fingers. Like Nanaki he inhaled it but once it was gone he started licking Cloud’s palm looking for more. 

“I have another for you.” Cloud said, trying to pull his hand way but Squall snagged it, sniffing up his arm. Cloud swallowed, easily reminded that Squall could rip his arm off if he wanted. He offered a second hotdog with his other hand and Squall pounced again. Freeing Cloud’s first hand but capturing his second. 

“Nanaki,” Cloud wanted to look at the lion-wolf but didn’t dare look way in case Squall decided to take a bite out of him. “What did you mean ,the cage affected him? He talks, like you?” 

“Hmph. Not precisely like me, but he can. He did once, but the longer he stays in the cage, the more ‘lion’ takes over his mind. I don’t know if there’s any reversing it. He was kind once, this is admittedly, the most docile i’ve seen him in some time.” 

“Oh?” 

“The last person to stick their hands in his cage lost them.” 

Cloud felt the color drain from his face. “You’re just now telling me?” 

Nanaki chuckled. “Well, you’re doing better than anyone else has.” 

Cloud pulled out another hot dog and tried to figure out just how they were going to calmly free these animals. Maybe they could lead them out by their collars… Cloud tried to get a look at it and frowned at the stains. 

“Nanaki, is this blood on the collar?” 

“Yes.” Nanaki said, voice matter of fact. “They’re lined with little spikes that dig in when the leash is yanked.” 

“Excuse me?” Cloud hissed, anger spilling over. “Give me a second and i’ll take it off.” He pressed as tightly against the cage as he could, both arms reached in and feeling around the collar for the clasp. It put him far too close to the lion who went still, a growl in his chest. 

“Cloud, don’t.” Nanaki actually inhaled. 

Cloud fiddled with the clasp and just as Squall opened his mouth to take Cloud’s arm off, the collar fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Squall froze, staring at it in confusion while Cloud pulled his arms completely out of the cage. 

Cloud’s whole body felt jittery and he shuffled towards Nanaki’s cage. 

“That was stupid.” Nanaki muttered. 

“Yes, yes it was.” Cloud said, a touch pale. It was far more comfortable removing Nanaki’s collar. Both were heavy and they weren’t even spikes but nails hammered into the leather of the collar. “Good Gaia….” 

Nanaki shook his head out and stretched. “Thank you, Cloud.” 

Cloud gave another shaky smile. “If i can get you out of that cage would you sit close to me? I don’t want anyone coming over here claiming you were acting aggressive and trying to shoot you or something.” 

Nanaki gave a nod. “Would you believe me if i said yes?” 

“I would. You want out.” Cloud said, jumping when Squall butted his head against his own bars. “Yes, you two even though you make me nervous.” Cloud said, picking up the bag again to pull out two more hot dogs. One for Nanaki and one for Squall. 

Squall pinned his arm down again, eating the hot dog right out of his hand and licking at his fingers again. 

“Yuffie.” Cloud called, trying not to raise his voice. “Yuffie, c’mere.” 

“Yeah, yeah, coming. These poor chocobo’s have burn marks on them but they aren’t as elaborate as the poor lion-wolf. Do you think-oh my Gaia. Are you okay?! I told you not to stick your hands in there!” 

Squall bristled at the noise but was making sure he got every crumb off of Cloud’s hand. 

“Yuffie…” Cloud said calmly. “Please shut up while Squall has my hand. Can you let Nanaki out of his cage?” 

“Nanaki?” 

Cloud nodded his head towards the other cage. “He’s agreed to be chill and i don’t want them in these cages a second longer.” 

“He agreed…” Yuffie repeated. 

“The keys aren’t in here. Xehanort keeps it.” Nanaki said and Yuffie screeched over him talking. 

“Yuf-fie.” Cloud said firmly. “Please stop screaming while my arm’s in a lion's mouth. 

“Right. Sorry. Right. What?” She looked back and forth between them. 

“Unlock his cage.” Cloud repeated, and stretched out his free hand. “Also hand me a hot dog and give the last one to Nanaki.” 

Yuffie looked back and forth in mild confusion before doing as he asked. She pulled out a set of tools she’d kept hidden somewhere on her and no padlock was going to keep her out. All in all it took very little very little time for her to get the door open. Nanaki jumped out and stretched, rubbing against her legs before moving to sit beside Cloud as agreed. 

“Squall must like you.” he commented again, noting the way the lion was actually laying down. 

“Well, that's good.” Cloud muttered. “Do you think it’s okay to let him out? I mean obviously we are just… right now?” 

Nanaki actually shrugged which was so... odd. “Perhaps if i am calm, he will be too.” 

“Right.” He inhaled slowly. “Yuffie, get Squall’s door too.” 

“You’re crazy but i knew that.” Yuffie muttered, moving to the second lock. “What do we do if he charges or something.” 

“Get out of the way?” Cloud suggested, making Nanaki snicker. 

They could suddenly hear sirens in the distance and the crowd was less joyful and more panicked. 

“Sounds like the police are closing in. We need to get out of here.” Cloud said. “When you’re done with the door make sure the chocobo’s are free too.” 

She smiled wide. “Yeah, i’m the giver of pretzels, they seem to like me.” 

Squall was so busy licking Cloud’s arm that it took him a long moment to even realize the door to his cage was open. Even when he did, he didn’t trust it. Nanaki had to stand in the doorway to coax him out. It was nerve wracking but he stepped out, almost confused that there were no clowns in sight. 

When he saw Cloud again he made a beeline for him and headbutted him before completely rubbing his face against Cloud’s chest. 

“Hey, hey, be careful. Your neck has to hurt from the collar. Shit, most of you probably hurts.” Cloud mumbled, trying to keep his balance. 

“Odd. He does seem to like you.” Nanaki commented. 

“Well he can like me over here.” Cloud muttered, stepping away and out of the tent so they wouldn’t be directly seen should anyone come looking. Squall followed without question, smelling Cloud with an obvious interest. 

“Very odd.” Nanaki commented again. It was only a moment later that Yuffie followed with the chocobo’s. 

She held her phone in her hand, chuckling just as they heard the helicopter overhead. “Barret’s here with a crap ton of reinforcements and apparently Vincent decked the ring master.” 

Cloud and Nanaki both laughed at that, the lion-wolf showing a certain degree of glee. 

"Are you serious?"

Yuffie grinned, "Yeah, he went for the juggler." 

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Puns? Is what we're reduced to? Are arrests being made?” 

“Oh yeah.”

Cloud nearly stumbled when Squall continued to rub his side against him. The plan so far was to stay out of the way. Let the cops with the guns and the warrants take care of all the bad guys. Everyone that needed help would get it and the kids would be safe again. The animals relocated somewhere more fitting. 

“You ah, got a friend Cloud.” Yuffie snickered. 

“Yeah, well it beats biting me.” Cloud said, stroking his fingers through Squall’s mane. 

Nanaki grunted. “Perhaps it’s just been some time since he’s been so aware.” 

Squall started licking at his jeans and Cloud wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about it. It was weird. It seemed to be skin contact he wanted but the licking needed to stop. When his phone rang it was Tifa. 

“Crowd control is going well and Barret must have been preparing long before we came. They came down hard and got here fast.” 

“Good. Bring my car around back would you? I don’t want it getting fucked up in the madness.” Cloud muttered. 

“You save the big animals, need animal control?” 

Cloud clucked his tongue in thought, “Merlin still got that chocobo farm?” 

“Yeah.”

“Well that takes care of them. We’ll figure the others out. Squall stop.” Cloud muttered, the lion trying to nose his way under his shirt. 

“What?” 

Cloud grunted, “Nothing. Grab my car. Aerith done with the kids?” 

“She’s meeting with them in the morning. Not as many as i thought, personally, but… there’s too much chaos going on now.” 

“Fine. We’re in the back behind the tents.” He hung up on her, knowing Tifa had an extra key to his car and would find them. 

“How are we transporting the Chocobo?” Yuffie asked. “I mean, Merlin will take them but they aren’t fitting in your car or Cid’s.” 

“You could ride them.” Cloud said dryly. He’d been joking but her eyes lit up. Oh. that was going to be a bad idea later… "Call Merlin and see if he's interested." 

"Right." 

“What exactly are your plans?” Nanaki looked up at Cloud. The sirens were blaring and they were starting to see police wandering around. Cloud was still admittedly, wary. Some people only saw a wild animal as a wild animal and would shoot first and ask questions later. 

“Well, we could take you in for the night, but i’m not sure what we could do with Squall. If he would be comfortable, you know?” Cloud muttered, arms crossed. Contacting the proper authorities would take way too damn long. 

“There was a time it wouldn’t have been a problem.” Nanaki sighed “But he-” Nanaki froze when Squall rolled back onto his hunches and stood up as a man. 

His hair, still mane like, draped down his back but over all did little to cover the fact that he was very naked. He was taller than Cloud by a few inches, a scar across his face, and dozens more around his neck. He was...beautiful, and naked. Beautiful and naked. Cloud’s brain short circuited. 

When he smiled slowly, his canines remained, sharp and pointy. 

“Hello Squall,” Nanaki greeted, but the lion, now human only hummed. He cupped Cloud’s face and dragged his tongue across Cloud’s mouth. 

“I…” Cloud inhaled, trying to pull away but Squall had a hold of him. 

Yuffie burst out laughing. “Oooh Cloud….” 

“It’s been such a long time since he had the wherewithal to change forms.” Nanaki mused. “I suppose he likes Cloud a great deal more than i first thought.”

“This.. this is what you meant?” Cloud asked, trying to push Squall back a step but he wasn’t having it. He left no room between them and was happy to have Cloud backed into a corner. “Squall, wait.” 

Squall made a noise, maybe a small lion’s roar from a human’s throat. He knocked Cloud to the ground with a thud and crouched above him. 

“Oh Gaia.” Yuffie was laughing and Cloud already knew she had her phone out, taking pictures. Squall was smelling him again, his lips trailing across his jaw and throat. 

“Damn it, Squall!” 

Nanaki made a thoughtful noise again. “It seems he’s still more lion than human. It’s not entirely unexpected given how long he was in that cage.” 

“So basically he’s looking for a little company.” Yuffie could hardly contain her laughter. “Cloud, you’re a lion's bride.” 

Cloud scowled at her but it was Squall that whipped around and growled when Yuffie had evidently gotten a step to close. He kept Cloud behind him and everything about his posture was threatening.

When Yuffie actually ‘eeped’ Cloud grabbed his face again. “Hey, no. She’s fine. She’s fine, okay?” 

Squall stared, maybe too much before he caught Cloud’s mouth again, tongue sliding between his lips. The sudden kiss had Cloud bright red and the hand on the back of his head kept him from pulling away. 

Yuffie took several steps back while she could. “Okay. I got it. Cloud’s the favorite.” 

“It’s possible that Cloud has just been the first one to show him a kindness and he’s latched onto it.” Nanaki mused. 

Cloud made an irritated sound and bit Squall’s tongue. “Now stop.” he snapped. 

Squall reared back, eyes wide, lust over taking him while he tried to pull Cloud back into another kiss. 

“I don’t think that helped.” Yuffie muttered, taking another picture. 

Both Nanaki and Squall snapped to attention when two cars took the corner and pulled to a stop. 

“It’s alright.” Cloud said, pulling off his jacket and attempting to wrap it around Squall. The lion however kept shoving it away. “It’s our friends. They’re fine.” 

It had Nanaki settling a little but Squall just continued to growl. He clearly did not like people.

“What in the world?” Aerith rolled down the passenger side window of Cloud’s car. “What’s going on?” 

Sure they expected to see their friends hanging out with a few large animals but seeing a naked man on top of Cloud was a surprise. 

“Okay!” Yuffie said, jogging towards the car. “The black lion turned into a dude and he’s got a thing for Cloud. Oh, and the cuitlamitzi-his name is Nanaki- he can talk.” 

“Girl, what the hell are you talking about?” Cid asked, the windows to his own car down. 

Yuffie shrugged. “I don’t think i can say it more clearly than that.” 

Vincent got out of Cid’s car and took the situation in calmly. He was evidently taking Yuffie at her word. “Nice to meet you, Nanaki. I’m Vincint.”

Nanaki nodded. “You have good eyes. Like Cloud.” 

The other four were surprised. Yes, Yuffie said he could speak but hearing it was something else. It was all that was really needed to clear everything up. 

“Thank you.” Vincent said simply. “Well, Merlin is sending someone for the chocobos. He was going to take you and the black lion too but i’m not certain that is the proper environment for you.” 

“Fine then.” Cloud grumbled when Squall was back to licking his face. “Look, i’m tired, so fuck it. Let’s just take them home tonight and figure out what to do in the morning.” 

“Well, why don’t-” Vincent stopped moving closer when Squall started hissing at him. “Alright. Why don’t you take that one home since he’s attached to you.” He turned to Nanaki. “Would you like to come home with me? We will see Cloud in the morning and regroup.” 

Nanaki seemed to take a moment to give it considerable thought and nodded. “Yes. Alright.” 

“Helps we all live in the same building.” Yuffie mumbled. 

“Fantastic, lets go.” Cid yawned. 

Vincent opened up the back seat to Cid’s car to let Nanaki in while Yuffie called Barret to let him know where to find the chocobo’s. Merlin was likely on his way already. The trouble lied with Cloud trying to even stand up again. Every time he attempted to, Squall would just push him down again. 

“Alright, look you.” Cloud snapped. “If you want to go somewhere safe you have to move your ass and let me up.” 

Squall blinked and Cloud got the distinct impression that he wasn’t just listening, but he was understanding. He still leaned forward to nip at his jaw. 

He could just barely hear Tifa’s teasing. “About time you got a boyfriend.” 

Cloud rolled his eyes and shoved Squall off of him but that only seemed to excite the lion more. “Let’s go Squall. In the car.” 

“You wanna drive?” Tifa asked. 

He shook his head. “No, i’m gonna sit in the back with him so he isn’t a jerk to you or Aerith.” When he pointed into the back seat, Squall just scowled. The refusal on his face was clear but when Cloud climbed in first he made a stressed out noise and dove into the back seat after him. 

“Yeah, that’s what i thought.” Cloud muttered, shoved onto his back again in the back seat of his own car as Squall laid on top of him. 

Tifa had to get out to shut the door behind them since Cloud clearly couldn’t do it on his own. The car starting had Squall shaking and it didn’t take Cloud long to realize that he was scared. He didn’t know where he was being taken. 

Cloud threw his arms around his neck to hold him. “It’s alright…” 

Aerith peeked around from the passenger seat and cooed. “He really is very sweet…” 

“Yeah, maybe when you aren’t worried about losing a few fingers.” Cloud muttered. He couldn’t do anything about his own blush when Squall’s head dropped to rest against his shoulder. He couldn’t stop thinking that it was probably the first affectionate hold Squall had known in a long time… Cloud wanted to give him more...


	2. Chapter 2

Squall didn’t like cars. He was wrapped tight around Cloud, pinning him to a laying down position in the backseat of his own car. His face was buried against Cloud’s neck, making very unhappy grumbly noises. The only good that had come from this position was Squall not caring when Cloud tried for the second time to drape his hoodie over Squall like a blanket. Well, that and the fact that he was human shaped and not lion shape. He would have squished Cloud for sure. As long as he was pressed against Cloud, he didn’t seem to care about much. 

That didn’t mean however, that he liked Tifa and Aerith in the front seat. No, he growled every time one of them spoke, hating to be reminded that they were still there and so close. When they hit a bump in the road, Squall’s claws dug into his hips. 

“Damn it, Tifa, can you fucking take it slow?” Cloud hissed.

“Sorry, sorry.” She said, glancing back at them. “Are you doing okay?” 

Squall growled while she spoke and nipped at Cloud’s jaw. When he seemed to like the taste he traced his tongue down Cloud’s chin and jaw to his ear where he nipped and sucked on Cloud’s earlobe.

“Yeah, unless he decides to eat me, which might happen.” Cloud mumbled, hardly able to suppress his own shivers. It seriously wasn’t his fault. What was he supposed to do when a hot lion guy was licking him? 

Squall growled low in his chest, nostrils flaring and erection suddenly jabbing into Cloud so hard he gave an audible ‘eep’. 

Tifa snorted. “Honey, if he eats you, i get the feeling you’re going to like it.”

Aerith could hardly stifle her giggles and was glancing back towards the back seat every few minutes. “He is awfully attached to you.” 

“Attached? Aerith if Cloud didn’t have clothes on we’d be in for a free show.” Tifa smirked. “Isn't that right, Cloud?” 

“Shut up.” Cloud muttered, face pink while the lion in human form rutted against him. Sharp teeth on his neck had his eyes fluttering and he had to reach up to try to shove him away. “Why don’t you stop for food?” 

“Where?” 

“I don’t give a shit. Stop at a McDuck’s and we’ll grab some burgers. Maybe food will distract him.” Cloud said, swallowing another sound when Squall pinned his hips to the seat. It was absolutely not his fault that he reacted when being humped. “Squall, stop.” 

That got him another growly sound and Squall was back to wiggling his fingers up Cloud’s shirt, pushing the fabric up along the way. 

“Going to have to be more firm than that, Cloud.” Aerith said, but her amusement was clashing with worry now. “But really, say something if things get too uncomfortable. I don’t want to restrain him but we might be able to think of something.” 

Cloud sighed. “Yeah, i know. Maybe he’s just excited to be out of the cage, i dunno.” 

“Well occupy him if you can.” Tifa said, “Well stop for food. Aer, text Yuffie and tell her we’re stopping.” 

Cid’s car was behind them and they somehow doubted Nanaki was being the same kind of handful but he was likely still hungry too. 

“Yep.” Aerith nodded. 

Squall was losing interest in the women in the front seat, which was good. It did however just mean he could focus more on Cloud. He shifted his way between Cloud’s spread legs, stretching out to his full height to cover Cloud completely. 

“You cut that out.” Cloud said, reaching up to cup his face. “Are you hungry? Do you want more food?” 

His response was to lick at Cloud’s fingers and if that didn’t just send more zings down Cloud’s spine. Now was really not the time for that. 

“They're good to stop for food too.” Aerith said. “And Nanaki says that Squall is generally very well mannered when in his right might. This behavior could be because he’s more ‘lion’ right now mixed with the sedatives he’s been basically living on.” 

“Lovely.” Cloud said, voice strained when Squall placed a hand on his erection through his jeans. “Stop that.” 

Squall’s eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. For someone who didn’t seem to know what they were doing, he sure seemed to. 

Cloud had to clench his teeth and swallow the noises he wanted to make but his friends were ruthless and would never let him live it down. He reached out to grip Squall’s hair. “Stop.” 

Squall made a different kind of noise in his throat, something much closer to a moan. 

“What’cha doing back there, Cloud?” Tifa chuckled.

“Trying to get him off me and waiting for food.” Cloud snapped, yelping right after when Squall collapsed on him, teeth scraping his neck again. God damn it, it felt good. “That’s enough outta you!” 

Squall ground their hips together, seemingly deciding himself that he was willing to distract Cloud too. He just took the opposite approach. 

Cloud hissed, erection aching and body tingling. “You are going to behave, damn it.” 

“Yeah, that doesn’t seem very likely.” Aerith said. “Doesn’t sound like you’d object.” 

“Oh bite me.” Cloud grumbled. “Not you!” You held his hands up to hold Squall’s face and try to block him from biting at his shoulder. “We’re gonna need to have a talk about how much i say you understand. Nosy lion.” 

The girls laughed, both glancing back when Cloud’s tone went frustrated. “Pulling in now, what do you want?” 

Cloud grabbed Squall’s hair again and sighed. “I dunno, like ten cheeseburgers and whatever you guys want.” He dug through his pocket to pull out his wallet and toss into the front seat. 

“Cool.” Tifa agreed, sliding up to the drive through and Cloud was oddly relieved that the windows in his car were tinted. She hung out the window, not really needed to look at the menu. “Hey, yeah, i need ten McDuck cheeseburgers, the meals. Large. Yeah, i said ten. No i don't need ten drinks.” She glanced back at Aerith. “I don’t think soda’s a good move right now. What do you want?” 

“The chicken.” 

Cloud snorted, listening to Tifa finish her order while Squall’s head lifted. He was sniffing the air that was heavily scented with french fries and his stomach gurgled. 

“Hungry again already?” Cloud asked, patting his hair. For the first time since diving into the care, Squall raised up enough to peer out the window and looked extremely confused by his surroundings. He growled once, lowering himself again on top of Cloud. It was like he wanted to hide. He probably did with whatever he’d been through. 

A few minutes later bags of food were being passed through the window and Tifa passed them to Aerith who in turn passed them to Cloud. Squall just growled, not liking them in his space at all. 

He snapped his jaws at her so hard there was an audible click. 

“Stop that.” Cloud said, boldly pulling his hair to tug him closer. Not an hour earlier he was afraid Squall would bite his arm off and now he was pulling on him… Maybe he had a death wish. 

Squall, however, just collapsed onto Cloud again. 

“Okay…” Cloud huffed, pushing himself to try and sit up. It was hard enough not to squirm with Squall nuzzling his cheek against Cloud’s stomach. This lion was seriously touch deprived. He opened the bag, grabbing a burger and handing it to him. “Here.” 

Squall bared his teeth and reared back just slightly. He was back to being suspicious. Food evidently wasn’t just handed to him often. He might have just been comfortable eating before because Nanaki was also eating. 

“What am i gonna do with you?” Cloud sighed, already exhausted. This was not how he expected his night to go. He took a bite of the burger and thought about where he could put Squall tonight. Maybe he’d like a bath. Was he too much of a cat to like a bath? That might end badly. 

“Hey..” Cloud muttered when Squall nosed closer and took a bite from the burger he’d foolishly assumed was his now. Squall just hummed, holding Cloud’s wrist and taking another bite. “Do you not like eating on your own?” 

“Maybe he likes eating out of your hand?” Aerith mused, glancing back at them. “Like he didn’t trust random food in a bag but it’s different if you hand it to him?” 

“Maybe.” 

The burger was gone in only a couple of bites and Squall was back to licking his fingers. Cloud’s face went red, this was very different from when Squall had done the same thing as a lion. Almost timidly he pulled out a second burger, unwrapping it and taking the first bite before Squall made a pleased sound and stole this one the same way. Cloud holding his food for him seemed to be his ideal method to eat. 

“So he was hungry.” Tifa commented and Squall ignored her this time. He just went on eating the bites Cloud fed him and seemed particularly fond of the salt on the fries. 

“Seems that way.” Cloud muttered, getting one bite in every now and then. He paused to give Squall a sip from his drink, smiling as he watched the lion puzzle out the straw for a moment. 

“Well who knows what they gave the poor thing to eat.” Aerith muttered, mirroring Cloud’s own thoughts. Squall didn’t look underweight exactly, but who knows what sort of food he was actually given. 

They drove on home, all of them living in the same apartment building. The pulled into the garage with Cid’s car not far behind them. It was fortunate they weren’t parking out on the street, getting a naked man inside would have been otherwise tricky. 

“Alright. We’re going to play follow the Cloud and we’ll get you inside.” Cloud muttered. 

“You know Barret is going to have questions about this later.” Aerith commented, smiling back at him. 

Cloud just shrugged. They all had questions. 

Tifa opened the door he was leaning against and Cloud nearly fell out of the car. “Thanks a lot.” He grumbled when she laughed. He pulled himself out from under Squall and grabbed the remains of their food. 

“C’mon Squall.” Cloud offered him a hand but ‘man’ once more turned to ‘lion’ and Squall slunk out of the car on all fours. He looked around suspiciously, extremely alert as he pressed against Cloud’s legs. Tifa and Aerith had just stared in open shock at the transformation.

“Cloudy, you looked chewed on.” Yuffie was laughing before she’d even climbed out of the car, Nanaki jumping out behind her. 

“I was chewed on.” Cloud said dryly. 

The girls all laughed at him and Cid just rolled his eyes and locked his car. “Let’s call it a night. I’m bushed.” 

“Yes. I’m going to check on the kids in the morning.” Aerith said. 

Vincent nodded. “I suppose we can turn over our evidence to Barret in the morning too. Nanaki could perhaps even give a statement.” 

Nanaki cocked his head to the side. “That would be allowed?” 

Tifa snorted. “You’re an intelligent being of legend who was captured and abused and can literally tell the tale. Yeah, i think that would be allowed.” 

“I’ll send you everything i have.” Cloud sighed. “I think i’m going to be on lion detail until his sense comes back.” 

“A wise decision to not leave him alone.” Nanaki agreed. “He seems to be calm with you. If left alone there’s no telling what destruction he might cause.” 

Cloud winced. His poor apartment… “Yeah, okay.” 

“This way, Nanaki.” Vincent nodded as they headed towards the garage elevator that would take them inside. Cid and Vincent shared a place on the fourth floor. Yuffie and Tifa were on the third and Cloud and Aerith were on the second. 

They let Vincent, Cid, and Nanaki go first. There was no sense in over crowding the elevator or challenging the weight limit. 

Yuffie and Tifa went next and Aerith waited with Cloud. 

“Think he’ll be okay with me on there too?” She asked. 

“I think he’ll be more worried about the tight space than you.” Cloud muttered stepping onto the elevator when the doors opened. Aerith followed him on and Squall suddenly panicked. He took a single step on before jerked back again, realizing it was just a small box. He paced back and forth, jaws parting unhappily.

“Oh, poor thing.” Aerith muttered. 

“Hey.” Cloud said softly, “It’s okay, we’re in here too.” 

Squall backed away, looking around the garage and for a fleeting moment Cloud thought he would bolt. 

Cloud knelt down while Aerith held the doors open. “C’mon” Cloud said, reaching out for him. “C’mon, you can sit right with me.” 

The elevator kept dinging every few seconds with the doors trying to close and it only made Squall more wary. 

“Maybe you should take the stairs with-.” Aerith started to suggest but Squall leapt inside, antsy and shaky. He leaned harder against Cloud when the doors shut, his mane pressed against Cloud's face. 

“It’s a short ride.” Cloud soothed, on his knees with his arms around Squall. It was almost strange how much fear of the huge lion was lost after he’d seen him as a naked, clingy, man. “It’s okay.” 

He growled, full of unease when the elevator actually moved. His terror was obvious and he did not care for the moving box whatsoever. At the next ding, the doors opened. 

“See, we can get off.” Cloud said, nudging Squall towards the door. He spun around and hopped off the first chance he got but waited for Cloud to get off too. 

“Are you going to be okay?” Aerith asked, strolling down the hall towards her own apartment. 

“Well, if you hear a blood curdling scream, it’s me.” Cloud muttered, stopping at his door and pulling out his key. “Call me if you need anything.” 

“Will do.” She nodded, going to her own door. 

“C’mon, Squall.” Cloud said, opening the door and waving Squall in. The lion looked around again and Cloud had barely shut the door before Squall dropped to the floor, rubbing his face against the carpet. 

“Okay…” Cloud said slowly, setting the bag of food on the counter in his kitchen area. Squall rubbed himself against the carpet, the couch, the table, anything he came across. He ran around the apartment like a giant kitten. 

Cloud even wondered if everything smelling like him set Squall off. He was acting like he was on catnip. He didn’t return to Cloud’s side until Cloud pulled out another burger to eat and apparently he wasn’t allowed to eat it by himself. 

“You have big teeth.” Cloud said when the lion pawed at him pathetically. “Change into your human for if you can, please. Then you can eat more.” 

He didn’t expect that to work and hadn’t really expected Squall to be listening but he stood up, back in his human form. He grabbed at Clouds wrist and pulled it closer to take another bite. If he’d still had a tail it would have been flicking back and forth in delight. 

“Alright, if you eat this will you take a bath?” 

Squall was licking his fingers again, looking unconcerned with whatever he was being asked. 

“Okay.” Cloud said, grabbing the food. “Follow the food.” 

Squall hummed, making a noise and trailing along behind Cloud. It wasn’t hard to follow his two current favorite things. Cloud and food. 

He eyed the small bathroom warily but seemed to feel better about it than the elevator. Cloud set the food on the sink and turned the water on to fill the tub. 

“C’mon, we’re not gonna scrub you hard or anything but a soak has got to make you feel better.” Cloud mused, wondering how the hell he was going to get Squall in the water. He wouldn’t fit as a lion so it was lucky he'd shifted back to a man...but well he was still a little bigger than Cloud was himself. The tub would be a tight fit. Maybe a shower would have been better. 

As things were, he didn’t have to do much of anything. Squall came in all on his own, his eyes following the floating loofah Cloud had dropped into the water. He leaned down and batted at it, watching it float away. A second later Squall was climbing into the water, grabbing the loofah like it was now his personal toy. 

“Okay, this is cute. What am i supposed to do with you?” Cloud grabbed the loofah, smiling a little when Squall growled and tried to take it back. “Yes, yes, you get to keep it.” He poured the body wash on it and watched as Squall’s eyes widened at the sudden increase of bubbles. “You’re adorable.” 

Squall wasn’t exactly trying to get clean but he played with it so much that he was rather getting the same results anyway, even if water sloshed all over the floor. 

“This is actually going better than i thought.” Cloud said, digging through the food bag and pulling out fries to eat. Every few minutes Squall would lean over the side of the tub for a fry and Cloud would give him one.

It had only been a few hours but he had so many questions. Was Squall some kind of mythical beast like Nanaki? Some kind of lion shifter? He’d never heard of that but he wasn’t an expert on mythical creatures. 

Nanaki said that Squall was well mannered and had once been well spoken. Perhaps he really had just spent too much time as a lion. Would that be permanent, or would his human side wake up? Would spending more time as a human help? 

There was no way so many years of trauma could be fixed in a snap. 

“C’mon lion, i think you’re clean enough.” Cloud smiled. 

Squall ignored him, playing in the water. Well, he should be allowed a little enjoyment. 

Cloud gathered up the food trash and got up to throw it away in the kitchen. He really should have expected the very unpleasant growl that followed him. The splashing and thud that followed meant Squall didn’t care much for being left alone and by the time Cloud had turned back, Squall was already standing in the living room area, pouting and soaked. 

“I wasn’t leaving the apartment.” Cloud promised, just assuming at this point that Squall understood at least most of what he said. “C’mon, c’mon, you’re all wet.” 

Cloud moved around him to get a towel from the bathroom and Squall was not overly pleased about the back and forth. He was however, a fan of Cloud wrapping him in a big fluffy towel and rubbing him dry. 

Those happy rumbles returned. 

“Good enough.” Cloud sighed, exhausted. He hadn’t actually expected the circus raid would be tonight. It was lucky he didn’t have to get up early tomorrow. He glanced between his bedroom and his couch, wondering which would be a better place to put the lion. There was that sneaking suspicion though that whatever he decided on wouldn’t matter. Squall didn’t seem to like Cloud out of his sight. 

“Alright, we’re going to bed, okay?” Cloud said. He had no idea what the alternative was but Squall followed him to his room and hissed pleasantly, already knowing on some level what room this way. He was only a little damp when he sprawled out on the bed, rubbing his face against the comforter and pillow. 

“Silly lion…” Cloud muttered but it gave him a chance to get undressed and find clothes to sleep in while Squall was distracted by smells. Unfortunately, he wasn’t distracted enough. 

Squall climbed off the bed and pressed himself hard against Cloud’s back, arms encircling him. 

“Hey… Go to bed,” Cloud sighed. “I’ll be there in a minute.” 

The lion didn’t seem to care much. He traced his tongue up Cloud’s neck and he couldn’t suppress the shivers with Squall clinging to him. Cloud gasped when Squall lifted him off his feet and carried him back to the bed. Cloud might not have been tall but he was still sturdy. People didn’t just pick him up. 

“Squall!” He was being pinned again. There was so much more space than there had been in the back seat of his car and Squall was taking advantage of it. There was also the added insecurity that Cloud was now as naked as Squall was. 

Squall roared, catching Cloud’s mouth with his own and he melted. It wasn’t hard to figure out how this night was going to go. His token protests were falling on deaf lion ears as Squall touched, teased, bit, and scratched. 

Squall was all over him and Cloud hardly got to participate after his brain shut right off. Lions in human form knew what they were doing when it came to sex and turning their partners into complete mush. 

It made the long night, longer and Cloud learned quickly that swallowing his own cries was impossible. 

Twice later in the night Cloud was woken up again for another round that had Squall utterly delighted. Cloud was starting to feel like he was the toy. 

When Cloud woke up to his phone ringing there was light shining in his bedroom through the window. He groped around for his phone, feeling Squall tighten around him. He was spooned around Cloud without even an inch of space between them. He was growling at the noise too, demanding with a gesture that Cloud make it stop. 

“What?” He answered once the awful ringing stopped.

“They put those poor babies in jail cells!” Aerith’s voice was fury itself. 

Cloud just hummed, taking far too long to understand. “What?” 

“From the circus!” She snapped, annoyed he wasn’t catching on faster. “They had no foster homes to put them in so why put them in cells for the night! I’m going down there now.”

“Okay.” 

“Cloud, take this seriously.” 

“Aerith. I was eaten by a lion. I’ve gotten maybe three hours of sleep.” He was grouchy and his back was starting to hurt… “I trust you can take care of these kids.” 

There was a long pause. “Are you alright?” 

“I haven’t tried to stand yet.” 

Aerith actually snickered a little, previous ire settled for a second. “I see… Well, you let me know if you need something. I might have to leave the kids with you at some point. At least some of them.” 

“Whatever, call first.” Cloud agreed, burying his face against his pillow again. “Can i try to go back to sleep now?” 

“Fine.” Aerith sighed. “I’m sure i’ll see you this afternoon.” 

“Goodnight…” Cloud muttered, already dropping his cellphone again. He was almost back to sleep when he felt Squall nip at his shoulder. 

~

Squall blinked, head throbbing a little. That wasn’t unusual. He stretched once and frowned almost instantly. The constant stabbing into his neck was gone, but the soft sheets beneath him gained more of his attention. 

They were soft and they smelled so good. There were so many scents that it was almost a fun game to try and figure them out. Rosewood and something else citrusy. Something flowery against the pillows, maybe the soap. There were traces of metal and oil that might have just been on something else in the room. Then there was a sex. The lingering smell of sex almost had his mouth watering. 

Had he had sex?

He cracked his eyes open, looking around a foreign room. No cage. No tents. He couldn’t smell the chocobo’s or the disgusting clowns. He didn’t hear the crowds. 

He looked down at his own hands and couldn’t remember that last time where he hadn’t been heavily sedated. When had he been in this form last? Had they sold him or something? That was a stupid move if they had... 

There was movement outside of the room and he growled. He’d fucking get out of here one way or another. He wasn't going to waste an opportunity if they were too stupid to keep him drugged. 

When the door opened the noises died on his tongue. A pretty blond that smelled so good. This was his room… He didn’t look like a shady guy. There were bruises around his neck and down his chest though and Squall thought he suspiciously knew how they’d gotten there...

“Morning Squall.” He greeted, walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked him over curiously. “You passed right out last night...eventually, but i guess you had a busy day breaking out of a circus.” 

He hummed faintly. He’d broken out of the circus? Well, obviously he had but… 

“You look better. Dinner must have agreed with you. I made breakfast, okay? Come eat.” he touched Squall’s hair lightly, like he was fighting the urge to pet him. 

“Well you aren’t nipping at my fingers this morning.” The blond laughed. “I don’t know if i’m relieved or if you’ve lost interest in me. Either way, your teeth are sharp in both forms.” 

Squall’s mind was trying to catch up with what was going on. His instinct however didn’t care what his mind did or did not want and he leaned closer to lick the blond’s wrist. Yeah, tasted good… 

He snorted and pulled his hand back from Squall’s hair. “C’mon. We’ll have breakfast. Nanaki will probably come down later to see you. We might also have a few kids visiting. Aerith’s on a warpath.” He sighed and stood up. “Maybe we’ll even get you into some clothes?” 

Nanaki was nearby? Good. Kids...eh… Clothes, he remembered wearing clothes at one point. 

Too many thoughts were battling for number one but… The blond moved to leave the room again. 

“C’mon, i made bacon. I figured you’d like that.” 

So the pretty blond wanted to feed him… He could work with that.


	3. Chapter 3

Squall slid out of the room casually, not sure what he expected. It could have been anything, a circus. _A private show_. Offices? Even outside of the nice smelling, soft bedroom he expected cages. Instead it was just...a room. A couch, a television. A table with chairs. He could see the kitchen area in the corner where the good smelling blond stood in his good smelling home. 

There were windows and curiosity had Squall drifting towards them. He paused at the curtains where his own scent sat. He must have rubbed against him though he didn’t remember doing so. He didn’t remember a bit evidently. He peered out of the window at the city. They weren’t a long way up but he could see buildings and trees and there was a...charm to it. After seeing nothing but clowns and the insides of tents, anything was an upgrade. 

His attention went back to the inside. There were colors everywhere. Nothing really matched but nothing was horrendously mismatched either. It was...nice? 

The whole apartment smelled like bacon and his mouth watered. What a nice thought, real food. Real meat. Real...pretty blond. Squall couldn’t help but watch. He hadn’t caught the blond's name but he seemed...kind. He was feeding him after all. He also evidently had no idea how his hips moved when he walked and Squall wasn’t about to tell him. He hadn’t had something so nice to look at in years. 

Squall slid over to the table and took a seat. It was a small setting for four but the only smell around the apartment seemed to be the blond and...his own? Just how long had he been here? How much had he rubbed against? That could be… embarrassing. 

“Hey, you’re at the table.” The pretty man smiled. “Are you feeling calmer?” 

Calmer? 

He didn’t respond but it seems he didn’t have to. The blond just watched his expression and continued. “You were running all over the place yesterday. Wanted to check everything out. Feeling calmer today is good. It’s safe here.” 

He wanted to ask where ‘here’ was and why he was ‘here’ at all but there weren’t many complaints to be had so far. Especially not when a plate piled with food was put in front of him. Three pancakes, scrambled eggs and soo much bacon. He reached for the fork the man held and was again met with surprise. 

“Oh. Great.” He blinked. “You want to eat on your own?” He let Squall take the fork and he felt his brows furrow. What? 

The blond's smile went soft. “You would only eat out of my hands yesterday. This is progress.” 

_What? …._

Squall felt heat fill his face. What kind of idiot had he been acting like? What had he put this guy through? 

“So Nanaki said you might wake up soon. Your more human side, i mean?” he phrased it like a question. “Is that what’s going on?” 

Squall hesitated, momentarily wondering if this was some new kind of torture. They’d abused him for years, was becoming his friend a new way to break him? It was the obvious route for his mind to take but he really wasn’t feeling threatened by this blond...and he was really hungry. 

He nodded, holding the fork even as he used his fingers to snag a piece of bacon to munch on. 

Bacon was good, so damn good. 

“Well that’s good to hear. Do you remember yesterday?” 

Squall shook his head, holding the fork awkwardly, trying to get the hang of it again. He cut into the pancake, shoving a large piece into his mouth. 

“That’s okay.” The blond was oddly patient. “Well, my name is Cloud.” he introduced himself again and slowly explained how the circus had been shut down the night before and how he and his friends had taken it upon themselves to free him and Nanaki. 

It was nice to know Nanaki was somewhere in the building too. He could confirm everything this guy said with him. 

Cloud spoke clearly, carefully, but was obviously omitting a few facts. The bruises he was covered in was proof enough of that. It seemed an odd thing to leave out. 

Squall finished eating in a hurry and was mildly surprised when Cloud moved to sit across the table from him to eat his own breakfast. What was even better was the fact that when he noticed Squall staring, he took the bacon off his plate to put it onto Squall’s. 

The silence was comfortable but every now and then Cloud spoke again. Offering ideas on what might happen with the circus. It was shut down of course and all those in a position of authority would be punished. Everyone else would be taken someplace safe for rehabilitation or to get the care they needed elsewhere. 

Cloud didn’t mention what would happen to him, but he likely didn’t know either. Shifters like him were rare and he was _not_ going to some other side show. He'd decide where he stayed next.

Still, it was those little left out details he wanted to hear about now, not the stupid circus. 

“Sex.” he muttered, voice lower then he remembered it being. “We had sex.” Squall dragged his eyes up and found a particular gleeful enjoyment at the bright red color that rose in Cloud’s cheeks and how it spread down his neck. 

“Yes. We did.” Cloud muttered. “You were persistent and i’m not blind.” 

Squall perked up, head tilted to the side. That was an unexpected answer. 

“Persistent.” He repeated slowly. That might have been the kindest way he could have put it. The lions instincts ran deep and primal and he knew that. Judging by the way his scent was all over the apartment he’d evidently felt safe. Frankly, he still felt safe. 

Cloud smelled good and his scent was everywhere. He could hardly stop thinking about it. Squall wanted to roll around in it now, he couldn’t only imagine what he wanted to do with it the previous night. He licked the bacon grease from his fingers and stood, moving around the table and dragging Clouds chair away from it in a little show of strength. 

The apartment smelled like them, and the smells of sex still clung to his skin. Maybe he could blame his reckless judgement on that. He threw a leg over Cloud’s lap and sat down, enjoying the blonds squeak a little too much. 

This was feeling very cat and mouse and it was the most fun he’d had in ages. 

“Don’t remember.” he muttered. “Do over.” He watched Cloud’s eyes widen and felt him hardened in his jeans. 

“You’ve chewed on me enough, don’t you think?” 

“No.” Squall purred, lips skimming over Clouds. He didn’t remember the last time he’d kissed someone and he wanted more. Both hands slid into those ridiculous blond spikes to hold Cloud’s head just so he could kiss all he wanted. What might have been even better was the way Cloud melted against him. 

When Squall wanted more of a taste he slid his tongue between Cloud’s lips. He tasted like pancakes and bacon which was good on it’s one but there was an underlying taste that was all Cloud and he wanted it. He could only imagine what he’d gotten up to the night before and hoped that memories returned at some point. There was probably still a lot of 'lion' directing him even now.

The small moan Cloud made sent tingles up the lion's spine. He jerked his hips against Clouds, delighted when that drew out a sharp cry. Cloud was noisy in bed and that’s exactly what Squall wanted. He wanted the blond to shout himself hoarse. 

The scent of arousal drifted through the room and Squall was already planning all the ways to ~~tease~~ thank his would be rescuer. 

“You smell good.” Squall muttered. 

“Not the weirdest compliment i’ve ever gotten.” Cloud swallowed thickly, gasping when hands trailed up his chest. Fingers tickled against his ribs and pinched at his nipples. He was a little shorter than Squall but Squall made it work anyway. 

The blonds collarbone was already sore and bruised and Squall couldn’t help but nip at it all over again. The taste of his skin was good. He was soft despite his respectable muscle mass and he was fun to touch. Squall was sure he could get lost for hours just touching, he just needed to move somewhere better than a kitchen chair. 

“Lion, you are a troublemaker.” Cloud mumbled, not sure what to do with his own hands. 

“And you are tempting.” Squall muttered, rolling his hips against Cloud’s and delighting in the feel of Cloud’s jeans against his skin. His eyes rolled back with every puff and whimper Cloud made. If he was so easily spurred to action, the previous night must have really been something. 

“So tempt me…” he rumbled, pleased with his new _caretaker_. He rocked a little faster, watching Clouds breath quicken and his lips part in pleasure. “So nearly there already.” 

Cloud really was beautiful to watch. 

“Fuck, you’re the one…” Cloud shuddered, hands resting on Squall’s hips. The blunt fingernails were just what he wanted. “That’s so…” 

“So?” 

Cloud clenched his teeth and hissed, straining hard against his jeans. Squall honestly had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky. Freedom and pretty blond all in one night. 

When there was a knock at the door, Cloud froze, eyes going wide like they’d actually been caught doing something naughty. 

“Alright. Alright, off.” 

Squall growled. “No. Close.” Whoever it was could wait. 

“Squall.” 

“No.” He dropped a little harder and Cloud gasped, not unaffected by the stimulation. 

Unfortunately, he had more control then Squall realized. Cloud gripped Squall’s hips and with a show of hidden strength lifted Squall off his lap and onto the edge of the table. He stood and nipped hard at Squall’s jaw. “I said get off.” 

When the knock came again, more insistent this time Cloud pulled away and ran to his bedroom. “Coming, i’m coming!” 

Squall stared, fingers touching his face where he’d been bitten, eyes wide. It was...It was good. Had Cloud bitten just a little harder he’d have come right there. The thought had him shivering. Cloud was all well and good when he was being shy and understanding but there was an appeal to aggressiveness. 

“I’m coming! Jeez.” Cloud said when the knocking turned into banging. He came out of his room pulling a shirt over his head to hide a majority of the marks left on his skin. 

When the banging just continued all the way up to Cloud opening it, Squall thought about letting out a very unhappy roar. Not only had they been interrupted, but the banging was making his head hurt. 

That changed a little when he saw a woman at the door and he could smell two smaller humans with her. He ducked back behind the table and shifted again, back on all four feet. Tremors ran through his body that he couldn’t make sense of. He shoved his way under the table, wanting to feel like he had some kind of cover. 

A woman and some children spiked his adrenaline. He wanted to hide or attack. He was resisting the urge to pace and roar out his displeasure. He hadn’t realized how comfortable he must have been with Cloud until he was met with such a non threat. 

“You don’t mind watching them?” The woman nudged the twins into the apartment. They were vaguely familiar. Smelled more familiar than they looked.

“Nah.” Cloud muttered. “They’ve been through enough i’m sure.” 

“How’s your company?”

“Adjusting.” 

She snorted. “Yeah, your neck looks like he’s adjusting. 

“Bite me.” 

“Looks like he already did.” 

“Alright, bye.” Cloud scowled, nearly shutting the door on her. The interaction almost made Squall laugh. 

“I’ll be back later!” she called, stepping away as he did actually shut the door.

Cloud sighed and turned around to look at the boys. All the annoyance he'd had for his friend disappeared. “Hey there, my name is Cloud. What’s yours?” 

The boys look nervous, probably not older than seven. They were the circus acrobats that had gained so much attention. Their clothes had been enchanted to help them but they’d done a large amount of the work themselves. 

“I’m Sora.” The darker haired twin said first, holding his brother's hand still. “This is Roxas.” Just the fact that he introduced his brother pegged him as the chattier of the two. 

Roxas was likely just scared to be in yet another new place. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you both.” Cloud smiled and Squall found himself a little jealous. He wanted the soft smiles. “Have you guys had breakfast?” 

They nodded shyly. 

“Good.” Cloud said, “You let me know when you get hungry again. You're gonna spend some time with me. I’m sure we’ll have fun.” He was however glancing around his apartment as if wracking his brain for something for them to do. “I have paper. We can draw for a while.” 

The boys glanced at each other, sharing a look before they nodded. God only knows how they learned to communicate in the circus. 

“Leon!” Roxas gasped and pointed. Squall felt his skin crawl. “Sora, look it’s Leon!” 

Sora’s jaw dropped. “Cloud you have a lion under your table!” 

“Yes, i do.” Cloud said, bending over to take a look and frowning a little. “We’re going to leave him alone for a while though, okay?” 

“How did you get Leon?” Roxas asked, not ready to let the topic go. 

Cloud laughed weakly. “We rescued him too. His name is Squall, kay?” 

“Did you change it?” Sora asked. He didn’t move closer but he crouched to look at Squall. 

“No. His name was always Squall. The circus changed it.” 

Both twins responded with a drawn out, ‘ooh.’ 

“Leon’s a dumb name for a lion anyway.” Roxas muttered. “Squall’s better. How come he hasn’t tried to eat you?” 

Cloud’s lips parted, stuttering out a quick answer when his mind inevitably went other places. “I fed him other things. He had many, many cheeseburgers.” 

Sora’s smile broke free first, quickly turning into giggles. “How many burgers can a lion eat?” 

“A lot!” Cloud promised with a smile. 

They were sweet kids all things considered. There was no telling what they’d seen or been through but even after living with a circus, seeing a lion up close was a big deal. 

Squall was usually kept in a cage and while he was aware of the children that lingered around, he was never really associated with them. Still, the thought of these two around Xehanort left a bad taste in his mouth. 

“What do you two do for fun?” Cloud asked, slowly rotating the boys so he was between them and Squall. 

“Practice.” Roxas said. 

Cloud blinked. “Practice?” 

“Mhmm.” Roxas nodded and immediately bent backwards in what should have been an alarming angle. He was flexible alright and Sora followed along. They both twisted themselves into pretzels before ending in a handstand. 

“Wow!” Cloud clapped, impressed and a little sad this was all they had. It was an incredible skill but he didn’t like the idea of it being the only thing they were allowed to do.”You guys are really good.” 

“We’re one of the headliners.” Sora said, falling into a cartwheel and perfectly missing any furniture in Cloud’s apartment as if it were an obstacle course. 

“Well, we were when there were headliners.” Roxas muttered, evidently afraid of what would happen to them now.

Cloud hummed softly. “Well you’ll be okay, i’m sure. Aerith is gonna make sure you guys are taken care of.” 

“Together?” Sora asked and Cloud looked like his heart was breaking. 

“We’ll try.” 

The boys took their shoes off and climbed up on the couch. They seemed to be keeping tabs on Cloud to be alerted the moment they were doing something they shouldn’t be. As it was, Cloud didn’t mind too much. 

“We’ll have snacks and watch TV while we draw.” Cloud was saying, stopping at the table to look underneath. “Hey there,” he spoke softly “You okay?” 

Squall just made a quiet noise, no idea if Cloud would be able to decipher it or not. 

“Are you more lion Squall or more human Squall?” he asked. 

Ah, yeah. That would be a sensible worry. He leaned forward to drag his tongue across Cloud’s collarbone but his shirt was in the way. 

“Okay, that really didn’t answer me any.” Cloud huffed, smiling faintly. “Look, i know you’re still a good boy when you’re more lion, just don’t be nasty to the boys, okay? They’ve seen enough.” 

It was sweet Cloud cared and mildly amusing that he was willing to trust a wild animal, shifter or not. 

“Does he talk back?” Roxas asked, peeking over the back of the couch. 

Cloud glanced up and smiled. “You know, sometimes he does.” He reached out to touch Squall’s head and run his fingers through his mane. At another point in time it would be almost nice to let him brush it. 

“You come out when you’re ready.” Cloud finished, standing up again to move towards the boys. “We’ll watch TV. Do you guys have a favorite show?” 

The boys shook their heads and looked pleased by the prospects of a channel just for kids. They warmed up fast enough to Cloud’s attention, likely feeling like spoiled brats. They got juice and snacks and watched shows completely new to them. They showed Cloud parts of their routines too. Tumbling and balancing. Sora could perfectly balance himself on his brothers shoulders and some of the positions they twisted into had Cloud wincing. They dropped onto the couch with a bounce and laughed as if it were the most fun they’d ever had. That was almost a little sad. 

It was nearly lunchtime before Squall slunked out from under the table. He wandered around the apartment, deciding to check out just how safe this place was. It was busy work and he knew that. He also felt three pairs of eyes peeking at him as he roamed.

“Squall, could you come lay over here?” Cloud asked. “It would make things easier on the boys?” 

Squall blinked, confusion setting in as he moved closer. The boys had started drawing with colored pencils and were surrounded by half a dozen pictures, each of a lion. It was...adorable. The drawings were awful… 

“C’mere. Come sit next to me?” Cloud offered, amused when Squall took the long way around the boys to get to Cloud and rested his chin on Cloud’s leg. 

“Cloud, are you a lion tamer?” Sora asked, pulling out a clean sheet of paper. 

Cloud hummed thoughtfully. “Well, maybe not all lions, but maybe this one.”

“I bet you could be a lion tamer for all lions.” Roxas added, pleased to sit so close to Squall. If he reached he’d be able to touch him. 

Squall rumbled in amusement. Okay, the kids were cute. How did cute kids grow in that awful place? 

“Well thank you but i don’t think i need another lion. Squall is all i need.” Cloud mused, grunting when Squall headbutted against him affectionately. It made the twins burst into excited laughter. 

“Cloud’s magic!” 

“Lion tamer!” 

Cloud laughed alongside them and Squall wasn’t sure he’d heard or seen anything as pretty. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Surely the circus mess wasn’t wrapped up so quickly. Still, he had every intention of staying with the blond. Cloud was his now. 

“Cloud look!” Sora said, showing his horrible outline of both Squall and Cloud. It was bad, but Squall loved it anyway. The kid knew what he was doing. 

The picture Roxas was drawing looked similar only he was working on Cloud’s hair sticking straight up. He might have to keep these twins too. 

They needed protection inside the circus, but they’d need just as much out of it. He very much doubted Xehanort would go down without a fight, but for now, this place was safe enough. For now, he'd let Cloud drag his fingers through his mane.


End file.
